Bon Charge Red Light Toothbrush: The Teeth Are Great. The Mouth Torch Is Unresolved.
What it is
An electric toothbrush with sonic vibration and six built-in LEDs in the brush head: three red light at 660nm and three near-infrared at 830nm. The lights are on whenever the brush is on. The claim is that the red and infrared wavelengths support gum health, reduce inflammation, and promote circulation at the gumline.
Four brushing modes: Clean, Sensitive, Care, and Polish. Two-minute timer with 30-second quadrant prompts. Four weeks of battery on a single USB charge. Transparent bristles to let the light through.
It costs around $200 AUD, which is not nothing for a toothbrush.
The cleaning
Genuinely very good. Teeth feel clean in a way that is noticeably different from what I have experienced with other electric brushes I have used. I would buy it for this alone. The sonic vibration is powerful without being aggressive, the quadrant timer is useful (although I mostly ignore it), and the brush head design works well at the gumline.
If the red light turned out to be entirely decorative, the toothbrush would still be among the better ones I have used.
The red light situation
Here is where I get professionally awkward.
I work with photobiomodulation. I understand the mechanism. Red light at 660nm and near-infrared at 830nm do have established biological effects on tissue, and there is reasonable evidence for photobiomodulation in oral health contexts, particularly for gum inflammation and post-procedural healing.
The issue is dose. Clinical photobiomodulation requires a specific energy density delivered to tissue for long enough to produce a meaningful effect. Two minutes of brushing, with a moving brush head at varying angles, is not the same as a stationary, calibrated clinical application. Whether the LEDs in the Bon Charge are delivering a therapeutically meaningful dose to gum tissue, or whether they are providing a scientifically plausible aesthetic feature, I genuinely cannot tell you yet.
What I can tell you is that I have been using it long enough to have clean teeth, and there is no strong evidence either way about the gums.
The verdict
Cleaning: Excellent. One of the better sonic brushes I have used.
Red light benefit: Plausible mechanism. Unresolved dose. Jury still out.
Value: Reasonable if you were going to spend on a quality electric toothbrush anyway. Less obvious if the light is your primary reason.
Would I buy it again: Yes, primarily for the cleaning.
If you have thoughts on the photobiomodulation-in-your-mouth question, I would be genuinely interested.
Bliss Jackman | The Togetherness Project | Melbourne and Perth, Australia
No gifted products. No affiliate links. These are my own opinions.